


in this part of the story

by sinequanon



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Good Peter, Multi, Soulmates, Spells & Enchantments, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 18:10:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12259473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinequanon/pseuds/sinequanon
Summary: At the end of Beacon Hills, when everything is hopeless, Derek gets a second chance to make things right. (It takes him a little while to appreciate it, though.)





	in this part of the story

"Derek, you have to go!" Stiles pushed at him weakly from where he lay on the forest floor. Still, the werewolf hesitated. "This is your only chance. Go!"

Stiles was right, Derek knew that. He ignored the vortex for a moment anyway, and bent down to kiss his husband instead. He tasted blood.

He choked back a sob as he watched red soak the ground beneath Stiles. After everything that had happened, Stiles and Lydia were literally dying to give him this chance. He glanced around frantically, searching for Lydia--

"Derek, go." Stiles’s eyes were barely-slitted open, but still managed to focus unerringly on his husband. "Be happy. We love you."

Derek ignored the tears rolling down his cheeks and turned toward the vortex. "I love you, too."

Everything went white.

<> <>

"Derek! Time for school!"

Derek opened his eyes to his mother's call, groaning inwardly. He was totally going to fail his science test, and then he wouldn't be able to take Paige out. His heart lurched suddenly, and Derek gasped with the pain. He thought about dinner, and his heart lurched again. Was he having a heart attack? He was too young for that, right? Could werewolves even have heart attacks?

Now, people like Paige--

THUMP.

Paige was--

THUMP.

Suddenly worried, Derek barely bothered to put jeans on before he practically ran downstairs to talk to his mom.

Talia Hale was standing in the middle of the family's large kitchen, watching her husband make breakfast. "I know you just keep me around for my culinary skills," he joked, reaching for the plates.

"That’s not true. Peter's just as good of a cook as you are," she countered, moving to set the table as Derek burst into the room.

Derek’s father turned to him with a frown. "Son, are you okay?"

Derek shook his head. "Something's wrong with me. Every time I think about Paige, my chest hurts." He slumped down into a chair, head in his hands.

"Sweetie, that's just young love," his mom soothed, running her hands along his back.

"No," he gritted, grabbing his chest. "It literally feels like my chest is going to explode."

His parents exchanged a look that, had Derek not felt like he was dying, he might have tried to figure out what it meant. "Finish getting ready; we'll go see Deaton," his mom said, and Derek nodded and headed for the stairs.

On the bright side, at least now he didn't have to worry about the science test.

<> <>

"Hello, Derek. What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Deaton greeted them pleasantly. Derek thought that the guy was way too mysterious, but he was still pretty cool. If he could help, then Derek was all for it.

"I've been seeing this girl," his mind skittered away from the name, "for about a month. She's interesting. We were supposed to go on a date tonight. Now, every time I think about her," he gasped as his heart lurched again, "it hurts a lot."

Dr. Deaton examined him in all the ways a regular doctor might--temperature, blood pressure, reflexes--before stepping back consideringly. "I need to ask you a personal question, Derek."

He nodded, hesitantly. The look on Deaton's face was making him nervous. "Have you been sexually active with your girlfriend?"

Derek absolutely, positively, did not look at his mother. He might not ever look at her again. "No!" Not that he hadn't thought about it before, but--

His stomach rolled. He ran for the nearest trash can and heaved.

"Derek!" His mom was beside him, pulling him to his feet and settling him gently on the couch in the office. He sagged against her gratefully. Thankfully, Deaton didn't try to ask him any more questions, so he let himself drift as Deaton and his mom talked. Finally, Deaton turned back to him.

"Is this your first relationship?"

"Yes,” he admitted. It would also be his last, he thought miserably, if this was how being in a relationship made him feel.

"Why is that important?” his mom asked.

"It sounds as if," Deaton began carefully, pulling down a handful of books, "you are dealing with a mate bond."

"Then why does it hurt?" he whined. Mate bonds were supposed to feel warm, loving, thrilling. Not like this.

"I'm afraid that is the part that doesn't make sense. If my suspicion is correct, the mate bond sees this girl as a threat, implying that your bond is with someone else."

Both Hales stared at the emissary. "But there isn't anyone else. How can I have a mate bond with someone I've never even met?"

"I don't know,” Deaton said apologetically, pushing the books forward for Derek to take.

<> <>

After a week of excruciating pain ruining their time together, Derek broke up with Paige. What other choice did he have? He liked her, but not enough to endure torture at just the thought of her.

He kept himself busy by helping his mom and Laura prepare for the upcoming alpha summit. It was surprisingly interesting learning about the other alphas. He liked Deucalion a lot, and the other alpha didn't seem to mind that Derek constantly sought him out to ask questions.

It was Deucalion who introduced him to Satomi. It was Satomi who told Derek and his family about the bond.

Deucalion had passed on to Satomi what Derek had told him, and hours later Derek had been surprised to open his door to find the other alpha on his stoop, and shocked to find that she was there to speak to him.

After everyone was settled in the living room, Derek spent the longest five minutes of his life watching Satomi drink tea, watching him. When she finally set her cup down everyone--even Peter--deflated gratefully as they waited for her to speak.

"There is a saying: If you try, you may succeed. If you don’t try, you will not succeed."

Derek froze. Was this some kind of a test? Looking around the room, Derek could tell that nobody else understood, either, but it didn't make him feel any better.

“I don't understand,” he admitted, when it looked like no one else was going to.

Satomi graced him with the barest hint of a smile. "There is a tale of a woman who, upon the death of her mate, cast a spell to reset time in the hope that they would meet and live together as they had before,” Satomi began.

Laura, who loved this kind of stuff, jumped in eagerly. "Did it work?"

"It did. But they did not remember. They lived exactly as they had lived before, and died the same."

“So?” Derek asked.

“You are different from the people in the story because your wolf remembers, even if you do not. Your soul is crying out for its missing piece,” she finished simply.

Next to him, his mother frowned. "You're saying that my son has a mate bond because he met his mate in a previous life?" she asked skeptically. She trusted Satomi, but this seemed a bit farfetched, even for werewolves. "Why didn't Deaton mention anything?"

"It is a difficult spell, not often attempted."

"So my brother has a mate that loved him so much that they reset time for him?" Laura squealed and threw her arms around Derek. "Now that you know you can change things!" She froze and turned back to Satomi. "Can't he?"

"Perhaps." She gave him another kind smile, but no more information.

The next day, Deucalion brushed off Derek's thanks, saying only that he looked forward to meeting his no-doubt extraordinary mate.

Derek moved through the next two days of meetings only half listening to negotiations. He spent most of his time with Laura and Cora, trying to come up with a plan for him to find his other half. Peter teased them mercilessly, but Derek noticed that he too offered his own suggestions when the three of them were stuck. Bets started around the house, but Derek ignored them in favor of researching everything he could about mate bonds.

His mom may have chided him for his sudden inability to focus on the summit, but if Derek hadn't spent so much time daydreaming about his mate, he never would have been walking by the secluded spot where Kali and Ennis were planning their attack.

In the end, he was a hero.

Even better, he had never felt more powerful or closer to his family.

<> <>

Derek met Kate Argent a few months later when Mr. Anderson, his history teacher, had to take a leave of absence to care for his mother and Ms. Argent became the long-term substitute for his class. Kate was pretty, and cool, and she didn't smell faintly of mothballs, unlike Mr. Anderson. Derek wished his teacher well, really, but Kate seemed like a vast improvement.

Unfortunately, the first time she accidentally brushed up against him, it felt like he was being electrocuted. He threw up all over the classroom floor and had to be taken to the nurse's office, where his Uncle Peter came to pick him up.

The second and third times, Derek had to beg the school nurse not to call for an ambulance, which was pretty hard to do when he was practically writhing on the ground. Peter kept giving him considering glances on the drive home, but didn't comment.

Kate was nice and she seemed into him, but he started skipping history class just to avoid her. It was self-preservation, really.

Then Kate cornered him in the locker room after basketball practice. She brushed her hand under his shirt, and he swore his heart and his brain exploded at the same time.

He woke up in the hospital twelve hours later. His parents' eyes were red and even Peter looked concerned. He went home the next day, but was forced to put up with his family's hovering for a couple of weeks while his family researched the Argents and waited to see if he’d have another episode. The annoyance was nothing compared to the relief he felt when Kate Argent was arrested six weeks later for attempting to kill a family of werewolves two counties over.

<> <>

The next two years of high school were fairly routine: go to classes, play basketball, learn more about pack interactions from his mom, annoy Cora. He had some female friends and tried dating once or twice, but it always left him feeling itchy and slightly nauseated, so he decided to give up on relationships and let his soulmate come to him.

(It was Laura who suggested that Derek's soulmate was either the jealous type, or a guy. Turned out, she was right on both counts.)

<> <>

Derek was in his senior year of college when his mother called him home for a family emergency. A rogue alpha had bitten six high schoolers and, although Satomi had taken the teenagers under her wing, the Hale pack was responsible for dealing with the threat.

The sixth victim, a girl named Lydia, had been bitten but had not turned, and it was Derek's responsibility to interview her as soon as she had recovered enough to speak with him. Three days after the attack, Derek visited the hospital, surprised to find her awake and playing cards with a boy her age. Both of them looked up as he entered, and Derek was startled by the curl of heat in his belly as the two stared at him. It vanished as the pair turned away, and the wolf forced himself to file the feeling away for a later date.

"You must be Derek Hale," the girl said simply. "I'm Lydia, and this is Stiles. Satomi told us you were coming."

Derek's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know Satomi?" he asked.

The Hales were under the impression that the other alpha had very recently taken in the new betas, so why did these two sound like they knew her personally?

"Lydia and I did a project in middle school on the symbolism of cherry blossoms and the samurai in Japanese culture, and Satomi was the only person we knew who might have been able to give us primary sources. Also, she and my mom were friends; Satomi babysat me every once in awhile when I was a kid." At Derek's shocked look--though whether it was for their research choices or his connection to Satomi, he didn't know--he added, "I've only known about the werewolf thing for a few months, though."

Lydia huffed, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I can't believe we didn't figure it out earlier." Stiles nodded in agreement and held out his fist for Lydia to bump. She complied with a roll of her eyes.

"Anyway," Stiles said, turning his grin Derek's way. "What did you want to ask us?"

Honestly? Derek wasn't sure what he wanted to ask anymore. He had expected to find a hurt, emotionally fragile girl, not two beautiful, razor-sharp teenagers. "Um," he gave the duo a tentative smile, pushing down his sudden nerves, "as best as you can remember, can you tell me what happened?"

Unsurprisingly, Lydia couldn't recall much after going to the lacrosse field to look for Jackson, but Derek found himself sitting with Lydia and Stiles for hours anyway, laughing and playing card games with them until both boys had to leave for dinner. He found himself easily slipping into their patterns of banter and quiet affection as if it had happened a thousand times before.

If he had had more fun with those two than most of his college friends, it was no one's business but his own.

<> <>

The kanima was a surprise. Despite Satomi's mentorship and a place in the fledgling McCall pack, Jackson Whittemore still felt inadequate enough to be controlled by teenage misfit looking for revenge. Derek wanted to feel sorry for the boy, but his unwillingness to accept help would only exacerbate the situation and put his friends in danger.

Stiles and Lydia, despite all of their research prowess, could only protect themselves so much if Jackson turned against them, and Derek worried that their other friends weren't taking the situation seriously enough.

"Someone's going to get killed," he grumbled at dinner, as he passed the mashed potatoes to Cora. "Don't get me wrong, they're nice kids, but I don't understand why we're leaving them mostly on their own."

"We're not abandoning them, sweetheart,” his mom reassured him, and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I've been talking with Satomi, and now that they all have good control--"

"Except for Jackson," Peter chimed in.

"Except for Jackson," she echoed, "they're going to train with us. We can get to know them better."

"Why aren't they in Satomi's pack?" Laura asked curiously.

Talia exchanged glances with her husband and brother before answering. "Satomi said that this pack will become of the greatest of our time, that they are more powerful than anyone would suspect. We have an opportunity to help them become what they're supposed to be; we would be fools not to accept that challenge.”

Derek scowled at his mom, stabbing rather forcefully at a piece of broccoli. He just couldn't reconcile the faces of the struggling teenagers with the pretty picture his mom painted. "If they're going to be so powerful, it just sounds like more reason to help them."

"They can't grow as a pack if they're stuck in our pack’s shadow,” his mom pointed out.

"They can't grow if they're dead, either."

"Why don't you go talk with Satomi yourself?" Peter offered, for once diffusing rather than exacerbating the situation. "Maybe she can put your mind at ease."

That was an excellent idea.

<> <>

"I hear that you are less than impressed with Scott McCall and his friends," Satomi admitted, though—was that a gleam in her eye?

"I mean no offense, but--"

"The true power of that pack lies not with its wolves," she conceded lightly. "Tea?"

<> <>

Derek was worried about Stiles. He and Erica had been searching the high school for the kanima when it had attacked them near the pool. He and Erica had both gone down, and Stiles, who had seen the altercation, had jumped in to save Derek from drowning. Unfortunately, now they were both stuck in the pool, and Stiles couldn't hold him up forever.

"I know what you're thinking, dude, and you're an idiot," Stiles said, readjusting his grip. "Someone will find us."

" _Before_ we drown?"

"Yeah, Sourwolf, before we drown."

Derek could feel the other boy getting tired and willed his own muscles to move, but couldn't get more than a slight twitch in his fingers. Stiles's breath was getting labored. "Stiles, you need to let me go. You can get help."

"Sorry, Derek. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Stiles tightened his grip on Derek's waist, accidentally bunching his shirt up. The tips of Stiles's fingers pressed into his stomach.

Derek gasped. For a few moments, he thought that Stiles had finally let go, and that he was drowning. Pictures flashed before his eyes in a dizzying array of colors. He saw Stiles and Scott in the preserve, Isaac and Erica and Boyd and Allison and Lydia and Jackson and Kira and Liam and--

His body shuddered, and his eyes slammed open just as he and Stiles slipped under the water. He felt the adrenaline surge through his system, and he barely had time to grab for Stiles before the other boy sank too deep.

They both came up coughing and spitting, and by the time Derek hauled them both out of the water, the most they could do was lay by the pool deck, exhausted.

Stiles was still breathing like he might hyperventilate. "Nobody came," he breathed. Derek reached out and squeezed his hand.

"That's fine. We can rescue each other," Derek assured him. He knew it to be true.

Scott and Laura showed up ten minutes later.

<> <>

Derek had been hoping that without the alpha pack, there would be no darach. Unfortunately, Kali had still tried to murder her former emissary, and the nemeton was still the best place for her to siphon power, so...

Derek eventually told his family that he remembered another life, but adamantly refused to give them any other information, much to everyone's chagrin. He told them about Jennifer Blake, and what she was doing, but even with the combined forces of Scott's pack and the Hales, Jennifer still started collecting sacrifices. By the time she made it to teachers, Derek was practically Lydia's shadow, much to Stiles's amusement and Scott's confusion.

The night of the recital, the entire family was at the school, and they saved Lydia with little fuss, only to lose the Sheriff, Melissa McCall, and Natalie Martin. Derek wanted to scream, because there was no way he was going to let his mates go through with the sacrifice. Stiles suffering through the nogitsune once had been bad enough, and who knew what would happen to Lydia, with her ties to death?

He needed an ally.

<> <>

"So what you're telling me is that I was deliciously evil and still managed to help you acquire two intelligent and talented mates?"

Derek rolled his eyes at his uncle even as he tried to rush him to the car. "We have to save them!"

"Talia won't let them do anything reckless," Peter assured him. "Ritual sacrifice will be completely unnecessary."

"Stiles already did it once," Derek stressed, "and Stiles and Lydia both reset time for me, remember? They will absolutely do it if they think it will help."

Fifteen minutes and two phone calls later, Talia and Laura were racing to save the parents while Derek and Peter raced to Deaton's.

<> <>

Honestly, the Hales might want to rethink their choice in emissaries if the guy tries to convince three emotionally vulnerable teenagers to perform a dangerous magical ceremony when there are plenty of capable werewolves willing to back them up at a moment’s notice. He supposes that it's what happens when someone is forced to grow up at such any early age; Derek remembers feeling like he needed to do things for himself after his family died.

Still, Derek is definitely having a conversation with his mom after this is all over, and Peter will, too, if the sneer on his face as the left the clinic was any indication. For now, he herds his unassuming mates into the backseat of Peter's car with him, the rest of the McCall pack following, as they all head back to the Hale house to pick up the parents.

If either of them notices his tiny touches or subtle scent marking, neither of them mentions it.

<> <>

Things calm down after that. The McCall wolves, like most teenagers, slowly invade the empty spaces of the Hale house until it seems that there are twice as many people living there as before. Peter strikes up terrifying friendships with both Lydia and Stiles, Cora frequently spends time with Boyd and Isaac, and Talia manages the Sheriff's diet almost as well as his son.

Sometimes Derek thinks about what came before, and he is infinitely grateful to Stiles and Lydia, even if they don't know it yet.

<> <>

When his mom decides to have another summit, Derek can't decide if it's a good idea or not. He's excited to see Duke again, and it will be good for Scott's pack to interact with other alphas, but Derek really doesn't want the distraction of other werewolves when he's just started courting his mates.

He's been moving slowly with them, because they're still young, and no one knows of their past history except for Peter. He has to admit, it's also fun seeing them react to things that he does for them, already knowing that they'll be pleased. Even Scott has tentatively accepted their relationship, even if he doesn't understand it.

All of these werewolves, and the information they could provide could keep both of them distracted and in research mode for months. He would much rather they be distracted by the information that he had for them, a handful of books on magic that Satomi had personally suggested.

Derek froze.

He felt lightheaded for a moment, his heart pounding so hard he was sure everyone on the property could hear it. A few of the alphas had arrived early, including Satomi, who was quietly sitting across the yard, watching him. He stared at her.

He couldn't believe that he hadn't realized before now.

Ignoring protocols and all the other alphas in the yard, he determinedly sat next to the other wolf. Her eyes sparkled at the show of bravery.

"Thank you for protecting them for me."

To her credit, she didn't pretend to misunderstand. "It was my pleasure. If only I could convince him to become a wolf."

Derek scoffed. Nobody could make Stiles do anything he didn't want to do.

"I wasn't supposed to go back this far." He glanced at the alpha, question in his eyes. "Only as far as Laura."

"They wanted you to be happy."

"I _was_ happy." Even when things were going to hell, he had always loved them more than anything.

She shrugged, the action reminding him so much of Stiles that he grinned. "Think of it as a gift, then," she said simply. "A second chance."

Derek knew that losing his family had crippled him in ways that would have never fully healed; words couldn't express how grateful he was at what his mates had done for him. But they were more important to him than anything. "It's not fair that they don't know. How do I make them remember?"

She grinned slyly. "Have you considered true love's kiss?"

"They'll both probably punch me." The look she gave him was pure Lydia, and Derek marveled at the effect that his mates had had on the serene alpha.

"But wouldn't it be worth it?"

<> <>

Derek had no real plan for what he would do when he found Stiles and Lydia. He just hoped that he could get close enough to the two of them to at least talk to them without Scott's interference.

The day before the official start of the summit had been declared McCall pack cookout day, so everyone was gathered at Scott's house for dinner. He ignored the looks and Erica's catcalls as he escorted Stiles and Lydia onto the porch to talk.

"I'm not sure how to..." He shrugged helplessly; he didn't exactly have a plan after getting them outside.

"Dude, we fight monsters regularly." Stiles gripped Derek's shoulder. "Just lay it on us."

"Do you believe in alternate universes or time travel?"

"You mean from a scientific standpoint? Because the idea of alternate universes is much more plausible than time travel," Lydia asked seriously.

"Time travel would be more fun, though," Stiles interjected.

"Until you accidentally changed the course of history in a way that negatively impacts--"

"You cast a spell on me," he blurted, not wanting to let his mates get too far into their debate. At their horrified looks he quickly added, "Where I was before...I had lost my family. You wanted to give it back to me."

Derek watched their faces as they considered the idea, knowing that they were the kind of people to sacrifice for others, and was relieved that neither was dismissing him out of hand. Lydia pinned him with a thoughtful look, and Derek waited for her to come to her conclusions.

"How well did we know you before?" Stiles asked slowly, which was a valid question, because despite all of the drama they really hadn't had much time to talk. "A spell like that is a big deal."

Biblically, was the correct answer to his question, but he wasn’t about to say that yet. “It's hard to explain,” he offered instead. “Satomi said that if I kissed you, you might remember."

"Satomi wants you to kiss us for scientific purposes?" Stiles asked dubiously.

Derek sighed. He should have just gone straight into the kissing, like in the movies. He expected Lydia to scoff at him, or for Stiles to laugh. Instead, they seemed to have some silent conversation with each other before they turned to him.

"Well," Lydia squared her shoulders, "it's definitely not a hardship to kiss you." Stiles echoed the sentiment with a wide grin that made Derek's heart flutter. "How do you want us?"

Derek turned to Lydia, letting himself really look at her for the first time since the spell. She looked younger, softer, but the fire was still in her eyes. He didn't realize his hand was in her hair until she arched into his touch. He leaned in and touched his lips to hers.

He heard her gasp and started to pull back before Lydia surged into the kiss, arms around his neck to keep him in place. She pulled back only when they needed the oxygen, and rested her forehead against his for a moment before shoving him backwards towards Stiles, who was watching them intently. "Kiss him."

Whereas Lydia looked younger, Stiles looked older somehow, more settled in his skin. His eyes still twinkled mischievously, though, and his fingers still tapped nervously against his thigh as he moved, and Derek felt the urge to take the other boy's hand. The moment he did, Stiles froze, and Derek took the opportunity to kiss his husband for the first time in years.

Stiles jolted as the memories came back to him, but like Lydia, he refused to let Derek pull away until they both needed air. He stepped back only enough to pull Lydia to them before wrapping his arms around both of them.

"We need to buy Satomi all of the tea," he said wetly. Lydia gave a startled laugh and held her husbands tighter; her face pressed into Derek's chest, Stiles against her back. "I haven't seen the spell in any of her books; she's been holding out on us."

"You will never endanger yourselves like that for me again," Derek scolded, trying to give his mates a stern look that was ruined by the way he kept stroking Lydia's hair and running gentle fingers down Stiles's arm. They didn't bother responding, anyway.

The trio jumped at the sudden chime of Derek's phone, only to realize that the entire McCall pack was staring at them through the living room windows with varying degrees of shock on their faces. Erica recovered first, smiling widely and giving them two thumbs up before dragging the boys away from the scene.

Derek's phone chimed again, and again, and the threesome looked down at his phone as he received a flurry of messages about bringing his spouses home to visit. Satomi had told them, then.

Derek ignored all of them in favor of taking dinner to the Sheriff, although he needn't have worried--Stiles's dad didn't once try to shoot him.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my oldest fics, and though I hadn’t planned on posting it this week, I thought it felt like a nice little farewell to the show.
> 
> Next week: A little something for TW and a little something for Bleach. For TW, I’m trying to decide between a fairytale fic or my TW/Harry Potter crossover, so let me know if you have an opinion.
> 
> To all of those who left me comments over the past month: thank you! I’m sorry I haven’t responded, and I will get to all of them in the next couple of days. I had planned to do some writing, and some editing, and answer comments over the course of September, but life conspired against me and none of those things happened. As I said, I will get to all of them soon; thanks for your patience.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
